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AEP Ohio is also a financial supporter of non-profit organizations whose focus is improving the quality of life. AEP Ohio is proud to be a partner in education -- through workshops, initiatives and educational resources -- to thousands of teachers and students, particularly in grades pre-K to 12. Through our economic development efforts, AEP Ohio strives to make certain our communities remain vibrant and strong. For more information about AEP Ohio's community activities, visit the section on community involvement on our corporate web site, AEP.com.
An alert Columbus-area customer, Tim Adams, was recognized last week by AEP Ohio for reporting and helping turn in a copper wire thief.
On Nov. 27, 2006, Adams contacted the AEP Security Operations Center to report suspicious activity near his home. He reported that he was observing several individuals cutting up what looked like electrical cables. He had also noticed a shipping label from a large wooden reel to AEP Ohio´s Northeast Service Center in Westerville. AEP immediately notified Columbus police. Jim Waldrop, AEP region security coordinator, along with Cmdr. Kent Shafer of Columbus Division of Police, met Adams at the scene. They found five large wooden reels of 34.5-kVa underground, high voltage copper cable that had been stolen from work sites at two new residential subdevelopment projects north of the city. "Three of the reels were empty; two were still complete, with wrapper, and a red dump truck was loaded with six to eight-foot lengths of the cable prepared to sell at a local scrap yard," Waldrop said. The estimated value of the property taken was more than $25,000. "With Mr. Adams´ alert call and assistance, we were able to recover almost $15,000 of AEP property," Waldrop said. In addition, Columbus police investigators were able to apprehend and arrest the alleged perpetrator of the crime. The suspect is scheduled to be arraigned for the theft on April 10. Adams was commended March 23 for his outstanding act of citizenship and decision to report the suspicious activity to American Electric Power. Natalie McCord, manager - distribution services, Columbus District, presented Adams with a $500 check in appreciation of his assistance in AEP´s campaign to deter the theft of AEP copper throughout the enterprise. "Mr. Adam´s action represents the best of our millions of AEP customers and reflects great credit on himself and the greater Columbus community," McCord said.
Christmas came early for more than 40 disabled hunters who took part in the fifth annual Wheelin´ Sportsmen deer hunt Nov. 10-12 at American Electric Power´s ReCreation Land.
The "Ultimate Team-Up" event matched able-bodied volunteers with disabled hunters, enabling the hunters to participate in the deer hunt on AEP property. Forty-two hunters, assisted by 125 volunteers, participated in the event. Seventeen of the hunters harvested 20 deer. The weekend-long event was conducted through a partnership comprising AEP, the National Wild Turkey Federation (Wolf Creek Chapter), Ohio Division of Natural Resources (Division of Wildlife) and the Ohio Army National Guard (2nd Battalion, 174th Ada Avenger Division). The event headquarters was the Clarence E. Miller Ohio National Guard Armory, located just north of McConnelsville. Hunting took place on specially constructed platforms at AEP´s ReCreation Land, 42,000 acres of reclaimed surface mine property, located just west of McConnelsville. "AEP was proud to once again host this event to help our disabled fellow citizens to enjoy outdoor activities," said Dave Dingey, AEP programs coordinator. Gus Franks, of Toledo, participated for his third year. This year, he took down a six-point buck. He spoke highly of the program. "It gives somebody the opportunity to quit being an invalid and get out in the field and do something," Franks said. "This is a great program. AEP, you can´t thank them enough." Working many long hours to coordinate the program were AEP employees Dingey and Brian Cox. As the program got under way, Dean Berry, Jeff Wilson and Dennis Cavalier, all from the Real Estate Asset Management group, assisted. Wendy Ray, a recently retired AEP employee, who also worked out of the McConnelsville office, helped in registration while Clinton Riley, AEP Ohio meter servicer, was a guide for the hunt.
A little home improvement project on Columbus´ eastside required a little help from AEP Ohio last week -- a temporary meter and service line had to be installed and power redirected to the temporary power feed before the project could proceed.
The "little" project was reality TV´s "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" construction of a new home for Whitehall residents Jason and Kirsti Thomas and their five children. Thomas, a former U.S. Marine and now a security guard for the Ohio Supreme Court, rescued two New York City Port Authority police officers from the World Trade Center on 9/11. His identity had remained unknown to the public until after the release of the movie "World Trade Center." An actor portrayed the anonymous Marine in the movie, which prompted Thomas to come forward.
Before the Thomas home could be razed and the new one built, electric service to the residence had to be modified for the local construction contractor, M/I Homes. Arrangements for the electric service modifications with AEP Ohio began several weeks ago while the project still was a secret. By the time the Columbus Southeast Service Center crew was called to do its part, the show´s host and lead designer Ty Pennington already had sprung the surprise and the Thomas family was headed for a week at Disney World. "We made it as easy as possible on them as we could," said Carmen Angelo, line crew supervisor. "Communication between us and them was critical. Natalie (McCord, Columbus District manager of distribution system) was involved in when and where. There was constant communication, and then we were called at a moment´s notice to get there to do our work." Angelo said teamwork, planning and safety were evident everywhere at the site. "We always plan our work and then work our plan to get in and out safely and as quickly as possible. There must have been 300 or 400 people on site, many who never had done this before. We saw safety practiced, and they told us they´ve never had an injury on a project." The AEP Ohio crew also said the M/I Homes group was "very helpful and good to work with." Other members of the Southeast crew were Bill Hewitt, line crew supervisor; John Goins, line mechanic A; Bryan Allaby, line mechanic A; and Matt Cassler, line mechanic B. Angelo also had the opportunity to observe the mass arrival of the makeover work crews as they marched toward the site. "It was pretty awesome to see the Marines leading the pack down the street," Angelo said.
The Thomas family moved to Columbus from New York City in 2003 and settled into what appeared to be its well-kept Whitehall home. That appearance ended there. Unseen by passersby, the home had major structural issues inside. The best solution: raze and rebuild. When given the signal, the Columbus-based U.S. Marines´ Lima Company stormed the Thomas house to lead the demolition. Lima Company has the distinction as the unit that has suffered the most casualties of the Iraq war. Even though the project was more than a little disruptive for the entire neighborhood -- work crews set up in nearly every yard, streets filled or blocked by vehicles and TV cameras on rooftops -- neighbors were very supportive. The family directly across the street hung a huge American flag from the roof of their home -- a tribute to an American hero. The family´s new home is approximately 3,600 square feet, slightly more than double size of the original house. The Thomases were presented the keys to their completed new home Sunday -- one week after they first were surprised by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The episode about the Thomas home is expected to air in February. |
